1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bundle processing apparatus for receiving and inspecting a bundle, such as a bundle having a predetermined number of bank notes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In department stores and banks, at the close of the workday, operators determine the sales amount at each department or deposit counter. A large number of bank notes are counted by a bank note counting machine to identify the sales amount in bank notes. The bank notes are bundled by a bundling device with 100 bank notes in a pack and ten packs of bank notes in a bundle. The bank notes are then transported to the head offices of the department stores or main banks. The head offices accept the bank notes at a deposit counter and count the number of bank notes.
At the deposit counter an operator checks the denomination of each bank note in addition to the amount, stamps the bundle and registers the data. Then, the bundles are stored in a box and the box is placed in a safe.
As described above, in the prior art system, manual labor is required to convey the bundle, check the denomination and amount of notes, and store the bundles in a box.
Another known system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,845,917 owned by the same assignee as the present invention. In this system, a predetermined number of bundles of bank notes are placed on an input portion. The bundles are taken out one by one from the input portion by a take-out device and are transferred to the inspecting apparatus by a conveyor mechanism. In the inspecting apparatus, the bank notes are picked up one by one from the bundles, for inspection.